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Railroader · Apr 16, 2008, 04:59 PM

The title about says it all. Apple Tech Support ROCKS!!!

My SuperDrive bit the dust, I dropped the MacBook off at noon, and before 3:30pm they called me to let me know they replaced the SD and to come pick it up when I was ready.

I am a ProCare member, perhaps this made all the difference.

This was at the Indianapolis Apple Store.

Carry on.

richwig83 · Apr 16, 2008, 05:13 PM

That's very quick... I took my macbook in on Sunday as the SD had gone too (wouldn't eject disk or show up in profiler) and they quoted 7-10 days but they said it would be ready in 3-4.

Due to the fact its the 2nd replacement macbook ive had and they have been repaired 5 times in total, i demanded they upgrade it to a macbook pro (albeit for a price) which they did for 200GBP and extended the Applecare for another 3 years for free!!

Either way... apple care is the future!!!

CMYKid · Apr 17, 2008, 07:23 PM

Do you know if they do actual on-site repair in all Apple Stores? I've always been under the impression that they sent everything out, one reason that with the exception of iPod problems I've always gone to small local VARs for my warranty service instead.

fesdds · Apr 17, 2008, 08:39 PM

In my experience, all of my repairs except for one was done at the store.

Cold Warrior · Apr 17, 2008, 08:44 PM

From my experience, nothing but the most basic (changing RAM, etc.) was done in store. The rest is shipped off.

Maybe it varies by store/region.

Guy Kuo · Apr 17, 2008, 09:19 PM

The Bellevue WA Apple Store is capable of in-house motherboard replacement in a MacBook. Must indeed vary by region of some stores can only do the basics, but this one can do major work.

Railroader · Apr 18, 2008, 11:31 PM

Originally Posted by CMYKid

Do you know if they do actual on-site repair in all Apple Stores? I've always been under the impression that they sent everything out, one reason that with the exception of iPod problems I've always gone to small local VARs for my warranty service instead.

I have had work done at Apple Stores in the Somerset Mall in Troy and in Indianapolis, and at both places the work was done on site.

At Somerset Store - palm rest replaced for "staining" and "video inverter" replaced for screen flicker

At Indianapolis - Logic Board replaced for various issues, "video inverter" replaced again for screen flicker, iSight replaced for DOA, and now SuperDrive replaced for DOA.

frdmfghtr · Apr 19, 2008, 10:42 AM

See sig.

I had a fan replaced under AppleCare recently; the part had to be ordered, but when I dropped the machine off for repair (on a Sunday even), I expected it to be ready in about 4-5 days...

...but got a call about three hours later to pick it up, ready to go.

I asked one of the Geniuses about on-site repair, and he told me that that store (Southdale Mall, Edina, MN) does about 90% of their repair work on-site.

imitchellg5 · Apr 20, 2008, 01:49 PM

ProCare makes a difference. But still, that's pretty respectable. Proves that computer manufacturers can have good customer service if they actually put their mind to it.

ghporter · Apr 20, 2008, 03:43 PM

I think ProCare made a difference in how fast they got to you, Railroader. Other than that, it's the people behind the desk (and on the bench) that came through for you. Any shop is only as good as its people, Apple or not-you found a really good one.

kelso · Apr 21, 2008, 07:39 PM

Wow, the Indy store? I've had so much trouble with them when I had a keyboard problem.

brettcamp · Apr 22, 2008, 06:05 AM

When my month-old MacBook's hard drive died a couple weeks ago, the Portland apple store replaced it in under an hour. The genius was knowledgeable and friendly.
The MacBook HDs are supposed to be very easy to replace, so maybe that's why it didn't take long. I was lucky to get a genius appointment for the same day, as I was leaving town for a week the next day. When I had a problem with my iBook a few years ago, they said that all laptop repairs had to be sent out to Austin, but I guess that's changed, at least when it's something as easily replaceable as a MacBook hard drive. Would have taken longer if they'd tried to recover the data, but I had a Time Capsule back up (whew!) so I restored the old data to the new disk myself. That took five hours, so I went out for dinner and a movie while the transfer happened.

bishopazrael · Apr 22, 2008, 10:44 AM

Brett,
enjoy the Portland store! I left Tigard 2 years ago and haven't missed a chance to remind the wife how much I miss it there. Seems like Portland had some REALLY good techs, but that's owed to the fact that Portland had more Mac users per capita.... ugh... sometimes I really hate New Mexico.

brettcamp · Apr 22, 2008, 01:47 PM

Thanks. The Portland store, though OK (and packed on a Sunday night mostly with shopper-browsers, not genius appointments), is way too small for the city. Apple proposed a sweet looking one (about the size of the one in Pasadena, I think) for NW 23rd but it was shot down by an overzealous design commission that said the exterior would violate the supposedly historic aesthetic of the area. Which, if you know that motley area, was a joke. The decision was widely derided even by architecture buffs, and I hope Apple will find another location in NW or maybe the Pearl district soon. With all the designers and musicians here, Portland is definitely a Mac town.

coreythemagnificent46 · Apr 23, 2008, 07:28 PM

Had a great experience with the Ann Arbor MI Apple Store today.. I bought my MB from Best Buy open box and refurb.. However geek squad didnt put the case together right.. and I ended up taking it in. Apple put the case right and then found out when Geek squad replaced the logic board on it they didnt reseralize the MB firmware.. So it didnt have a serial number. They fixed it and told me I should complain to best buy.

Anyways Ended up buying an incase hardshellf or my MB and a Griffin Elevator Stand.. Works great